Premier League: Liverpool defeats Manchester United

Liverpool supporters are dreaming of their club's first league title since 1990. Liverpool has won 18 league titles in its history but has struggled in recent years to compete with Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City.

Liverpool took a 34th minute lead when Steven Gerrard fired home from the penalty spot. Luis Suarez won the spot kick following a handball by Rafael.

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson watched on from the stands as Liverpool dominated the opening 45 minutes at Old Trafford.

Gerrard netted his and Liverpool's second after the interval from the penalty spot after a foul on Joe Allen.

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Daniel Sturridge. Gerrard took the penalty kick but could only hit the post.

Suarez rounded off the scoring by firing home Liverpool's third with a classy finish for his 25th goal of the season.

"It's a fantastic day personally but we came here to win the game," Gerrard told Sky Sports.

"We'll enjoy tonight but we need to move on quickly. We've shown today we're genuine contenders and we'll fight to the end.

"We played a diamond today and totally bossed the midfield and controlled the game. The Manchester United defense will not have had a harder game than against our strikers today.

"We believe that we can win the league. But the easiest thing in football is to talk the talk. We have to treat Cardiff and Sunderland the same as Manchester United. I maybe got a bit cocky with the last penalty but scored the two that mattered most."

Last season, United finished 28 points clear of Liverpool on its way to winning the Premier League title.

Now, Moyes' side is 14 points behind and faces the embarrassment of not even managing to qualify for European football.

On Wednesday, United meets Greek side Olympiakos in the second leg of its last 16 Champions League tie needing to overturn a two-goal deficit to progress.

Failure would represent another disastrous episode in Moyes' reign since replacing Alex Ferguson at the end of last season.

Worse for United is the success of its greatest rival - Liverpool.

A fifth successive league victory was recorded with consummate ease as United's lack of cohesion afforded the likes of Suarez and strike partner Daniel Sturridge more room than they could ever have imagined.

Liverpool dominated the opening 45 minutes and went ahead when Rafael, already on a yellow card, handled inside the penalty area.

Rafael, fortunate not to be sent off, then watched on as Gerrard expertly placed the ball into the corner.

United, with Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie, all on the field, struggled to make any real impact.

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Its only real opportunity of the first half came when Rooney's fierce effort was tipped away by Simon Mignolet in the Liverpool goal.